The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF)

Vote TGIF Flash Mob @ UC Berkeley Sproul

admin — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 12:04:51 +0000

watch TGIF For visual information

admin — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 15:42:16 +0000

CalServe Shake-Up

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:55:14 +0000

In a surprising shift, three of the four candidates in the CalSERVE executive slate won the student vote in the ASUC elections, according to the preliminary results. CalSERVE Senator Van Nguyen was elected president, Senator Taylor Allbright was elected executive vice president and party member Daniel Montes was elected external affairs vice president. Student Action Senator Curtis Lee was elected academic affairs vice president, and the current Student Advocate’s chief of staff Ajay Krishnamurthy was elected student advocate.

According to Nguyen, the last year that CalSERVE controlled the executive positions was in 2003-2004, when CalSERVE swept all executive positions with the exception of the student advocate position,

Minutes after seeing the results, Nguyen said he was “speechless.”

“I don’t know what to say,” Nguyen said. “I thought we were behind for sure. It’s absolutely amazing.”

Nguyen said the three executive wins for CalSERVE was a necessary change for the campus.

“Students were ready for a change,” Nguyen said.

Student Action Senator Ilana Nankin, the second highest vote-winner for presidency, said she had no comment on the outcome, and she was in tears as the results were released.

The preliminary results, which were announced at 6:30 last night, must be verified by the Judicial Council before they are finalized, said Elections Council Chair Jessica Wren.

Allbright said she is very excited about her win and commended her fellow candidates in the race.

“Everyone who ran for executives did an amazing job,” she said. “It was a close race. I’m happy to be a part of it. I’m excited—it’s going to be a fun year.”

Although she lost her campaign for academic affairs vice president, CalSERVE Senator Carolina Jauregui said she was pleased with her party members’ wins.

“Even though it makes me sad that I lost, my happiness for Van, Taylor, and Danny is much stronger than any disappointment I might feel,” she said.

Next year’s preliminary senate winners were also released, with independent candidate Nadir Shams, APPLE Engineering candidate Winnie Kuo, and CalSERVE candidate Danielle Duong as the three highest-ranked candidates to win seats.

Next year’s senate is composed of 10 Student Action and affiliated party members, six CalSERVE members, two independents, one SQUELCH! party member and one Berkeley College Republicans party member, according to preliminary results.

In addition to candidates’ results, the results for the four referenda and three constitutional amendments on the ballot were announced, with two out of the seven propositions passing.

The Green Initiative Fund, a $5 student fee increase to fund sustainability projects on campus, passed, winning 69.25 percent of non-abstention votes cast. A constitutional amendment to create a 13-member line of succession for the presidency also passed with 83.08 percent of the vote.

In response to the three CalSERVE candidates’ executive wins, Student Action Senator Jeff Manassero said the candidates chosen are right for their position, regardless of their party.

“I think as far as parties are concerned, I’ve never been one to think or vote on party lines,” he said. “I think everyone the student body chose is qualified. I agree with the decision.”

Tamara Bartlett
The Daily Californian

4/18/07 TGIF Passes!

admin — Tue, 18 Mar 2008 08:53:34 +0000

Winning 69% of non-abstention votes cast, TGIF scored a solid victory, while the three other student fee referenda failed.

Project Flow & Reporting

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Every year, funded projects must submit either an update report or a final report. These reports must must detail the spending of all funds and also include measured outcomes such as energy and water savings or greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions. The Grant Coordinator will review these project reports and use them to compile the annual report of TGIF, which will be given to the ASUC Senate, Graduate Assembly, Director of the ASUC-Auxiliary, and Grant Making Committee member appointing bodies.

TGIF Administration

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The 7 voting members of Grant Making Committee — 4 of which are students — are appointed each year. There is a 2 consecutive term limit for voting members, but after 1 year off, a former member can serve again.

To provide oversight, 3 non-voting members also serve on the Committee.

The Committee will hire a Grant Coordinator to handle bookkeeping and reporting and also to serve as the liaison between the Committee and the UC Berkeley campus community.

Administrative structure of TGIF:

Loans vs. Grants

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The Grant Making Committee may require projects that generate revenue to repay a portion of this to TGIF. Since many of the projects identified in the above documents will save Cal large amounts of money, there is a good chance that TGIF will grow over the years as projects give back to the Fund.

Most of these money-making projects are not currently being pursued due to high capital investment costs — a perfect opportunity for TGIF!

Potential Projects

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TGIF is intentionally not being restricted to a specific set of projects. This is done so that as sustainability innovations become standard practices, the Fund will be able to stay on the cutting edge.

At present, a large number of projects have already been identified by other campus organizations that could potentially be funded by TGIF. The top sources for these projects include the:

2005 Campus Sustainability Assessment
2005 Sustainable Water Plan for UC Berkeley
Cal Climate Action Partnership (CalCAP)
– Greenhouse gas inventory and project descriptions

Some potential projects that have been identified from the above documents include:

1. Enabling energy saving settings in campus computer labs
2. Expanding Cal’s electrical vehicle fleet
3. Repairing the CoGen (steam and electricity) plant
4. Upgrading bathroom fixtures and water conservation
5. Switching to 100% biodiesel for the campus refuse trucks

For more in depth descriptions of these projects, see this Project Examples document.

Project Selection

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The Green Initiative Fund (TGIF) will be housed within the ASUC-Auxiliary and provide money for sustainability projects Cal would not otherwise be able to fund. TGIF money will not fund environmental programs already mandated by laws or policies, such as the UC Presidential Policy on Green Building Design, Clean Energy Standards, and Sustainable Transportation Practices and California AB 32: The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 (press release). It is the duty of the campus administration to find the necessary funding to abide by laws and policies.

Students, faculty, and staff at UC Berkeley will be eligible to apply to TGIF for grants and/or loans to fund sustainability projects on campus. The criteria used to evaluate projects will ensure that funded projects:

* Measurably reduce UC Berkeley’s impact on the environment
* Have publicity, education and outreach components
* Received all necessary written approval by appropriate campus officials
* Are not already mandated by law or UC policy
(TGIF projects go above and beyond current legal or policy requirements)
* Demonstrate the greatest environmental impact reduction for the least cost
* May repay the Fund
* Encourage student participation

In addition, 20% of dispersed funds must go to projects involving students each year. For the complete lists of selection criteria see ASUC Bill 61a and The Green Initiative Fund Bylaws.

THE GREEN INITIATIVE FUND REFERENDUM

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A mandatory student fee of $5 per semester has been proposed to raise funds for projects focused on
environmental sustainability at UC Berkeley. The funded projects would focus on:
• Minimizing UC Berkeley’s contribution to global climate change
• Conserving water, energy, and other resources
• Increasing UC Berkeley’s use of renewable energy from sources such as solar panels, wind power, and
biodiesel for campus vehicles
• Promoting local and organic food
• Educating the campus community about environmental sustainability
• Providing paid student internships
The funds will be managed by The Green Initiative Fund Grant Making Committee, under the ASUC-
Auxiliary. The Committee will award funds to projects proposed by students, faculty, and/or staff based on
the following guidelines:
1. Projects shall reduce UC Berkeley’s impact on the environment.
2. Projects shall have publicity, education and outreach components.
3. Projects shall have received all necessary written approval by appropriate campus officials prior to
consideration.
4. UC Berkeley students, staff, and faculty are able to submit project proposals; individuals and
organizations outside of UC Berkeley are not.
5. TGIF will not fund projects already mandated by law or UC policy. TGIF will fund projects that go
above and beyond current legal or policy requirements.
6. Preference will be given to projects that demonstrate the greatest reduction of UC Berkeley’s impact
on the environment for the least cost.
7. Preference will be given to projects that are able to repay the fund.
8. Student participation should be encouraged.
The following mandatory fee will apply to all registered graduate and undergraduate students, and will be
governed by UC Berkeley’s standard schedule of refunds. The fee is subject to the following costs and
conditions:
• Collection of the fee will begin with Fall Semester 2007 at $5.00 per semester and continue at that rate
for three years, through Spring Semester 2010. The fee will be in effect for ten years, from Fall 2007
through Spring 2017. Students registering in the summer will be assessed a fee in the same amount as the
following Fall Semester, beginning with summer 2008.
• After Spring 2010, the fee will increase every three years to cover the cost of inflation and other
increases (including the cost of energy) in the following manner:
o 2007-08, 2008-09, and 2009-10 (Years 1 -3): $5.00 per semester
o 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13 (Years 4-6): $5.50 per semester
o 2013-14, 2014-15, 2015-16 and 2016-17 (Years 7-10): $6.00 per semester
In accordance with campus policy, one-third of the Fee will be returned to financial aid to help offset the cost
of this Fee for students who are eligible for financial aid